Storm leaves thousands without power in Greater New Haven

As seen Thursday, May 17, 2018, the extensive damage in Bethany caused by Tuesday's tornado. State and city employees continue to clean-up roads and utility companies work to restore power.

As seen Thursday, May 17, 2018, the extensive damage in Bethany caused by Tuesday's tornado. State and city employees continue to clean-up roads and utility companies work to restore power.

Photo: Catherine Avalone, Hearst Connecticut Media

Photo: Catherine Avalone, Hearst Connecticut Media

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As seen Thursday, May 17, 2018, the extensive damage in Bethany caused by Tuesday's tornado. State and city employees continue to clean-up roads and utility companies work to restore power.

As seen Thursday, May 17, 2018, the extensive damage in Bethany caused by Tuesday's tornado. State and city employees continue to clean-up roads and utility companies work to restore power.

Photo: Catherine Avalone, Hearst Connecticut Media

Storm leaves thousands without power in Greater New Haven

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Towns in Greater New Haven continue to struggle following severe thunderstorms and two tornadoes that heavily impacted the area Tuesday night.

Hamden Fire Chief David Berardesca said the town is steadily moving forward. He said additional UI crews have been allotted, as the town was evaluated as one of the most devastated areas, and firefighters, police officers and Public Works employees have been working extra shifts.

He said the crews worked through the night, and a number of major roads have reopened, with crews Thursday focusing their efforts on the side streets. He said about 30 roads still were closed as of Thursday evening.

Berardesca said part of the problem in the West Woods area is there are many trees entangled in the wires, so the utility company has to make sure the wires aren’t live before Public Works can safely clear the trees.

He reminded residents not to touch wires or cut trees and to stay safe. “People venturing out — it’s dangerous. You’ll be driving around and all of a sudden, there’s a tree down. You turn around and say, ‘How do I get out of here?’” Berardesca said.

While response times for firefighters and paramedics are expected to take longer, he said the town is employing alternative methods to make sure emergency personnel can get to residents in case of a medical emergency or fire. Berardesca said emergency personnel will be using ATVs, with the medical equipment strapped to the vehicle.

He said information about closed streets has been relayed to first responders, but it’s still very challenging.

“We practice for these things, but you can’t practice for this extreme,” Berardesca said. “(Superstorm) Sandy wasn’t as bad as this in that area.”

The town of Hamden announced Thursday afternoon West Woods School had been opened as an emergency assistance center for those affected by the storm.

The center was set to be open from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday. It would open each day “until there is a more thorough restoration of power to the area,” officials said.

The Hamden/North Haven YMCA on Sherman Avenue also is allowing residents to shower and charge phones during business hours, according to the town.

The Hamden Public Schools announced classes would be canceledagain Friday, as many town roads “are still impassable due to downed wires and trees.”

North Haven Fire Chief Paul Januszewski said only a couple of streets remained impassable Thursday, and UI and Public Works were continuing to work to reopen those roads.

He said opening the streets to allow for emergency access was a priority, with focus expected to shift to power restoration later in the day. He reminded residents to stop driving over wires, as they could be energized.

Januszewski said 29 residences have been condemned so far, and he expects that number to increase.

New Haven Director of Emergency Operations Rick Fontana said the intersection of Lexington Avenue and Revere Street was the only closure as of Thursday afternoon as police awaited repairs from utility crews.

While New Haven had just 40 outages at one point, Fontana said the city was back up to 80 outages from 12 incidents as of Thursday evening, with 68 of the outages coming from two of them.

Fontana said primary wires were down on Harrison Street and Colony Road, and the city was working with UI crews.

The United Illuminating Co. reported three customers without power in Ansonia; one in Derby; 2,253 in Hamden; 10 in New Haven; three in North Branford; 649 in North Haven; 12 in Orange; four in Shelton; and five in West Haven, as of late Thursday afternoon.

Ed Crowder, spokesman for UI, said Thursday morning a global restoration time had not been announced yet. “Obviously, we’re still out there working, and we’ll continue working until everybody’s got service back,” he said.

Crowder reminded residents that downed wires should always be treated as dangerous, especially when people are clearing brush. He said residents need to check to see whether a downed power line is hiding that has yet to be reported.

In a Thursday tweet, United Illuminating announced efforts to address the damage in Hamden and North Haven may not be “substantially complete” until Friday evening.

Eversource said there were 2,144 customers in Bethany with outages; 50 in Cheshire; 28 in Guilford; 4,488 in Seymour; and 30 in Woodbridge, as of Late Thursday afternoon.

Eversource said restorations to Branford and Old Saybrook were “substantially complete.” Restorations for Bethany and Seymour were expected to be complete by 11:59 p.m. Friday, and Cheshire was expected to be completed on . Thursday , according to Eversource.

Chris Collibee, director of Communications for the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden, Chatfield Hollow State Park in Killingworth, Kettletown State Park in Southbury, Southford Falls State Park in Oxford, Squantz Pond State Park in New Fairfield, Putnam Memorial State Park in Redding and Wharton Brook State Park in Wallingford remained closed Thursday.

“A tornado touched down near the intersection of Bethany Road and Bonna Street in Beacon Falls, destroyed a barn in Bethany, and continued on to just west of Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden, where the damage path broadened and became more straight-line in nature,” said NWS officials. “The tornado left a path of numerous uprooted and snapped hardwood and pine trees.”